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Malawi, Lesotho, Tuvalu, Bhutan, Suriname, Palau, Brunei, Bahrain, Laos, South Sudan

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Beijing 2022 will be a complete disaster for China if they don't sort this out soon. The IOC won't be able to maintain careful neutrality and stave off protests from athletes over this. And I suspect many, many athletes will want to protest. 'Complex' issues around human rights/politics are one thing, but disappearing an athlete has the potential to cause the mother of all storms and be THE sole talking point of Beijing 2022. Every press conference, many podium ceremonies, interviews etc. And there'll be no way to talk round it, none of the IOC's usual guff about their presence having a positive long-term impact will wash. The IOC will have to side with the athletes and, I suspect, drop bans on protests. In short, if she's ok China needs to prove it. This will hugely escalate if not.

I DECLARE CHRISTMAS 2021...OPEN! Lowestoft's finest there, with one of the all-time great Christmas songs...here goes: Here we go again, because you can't keep a good idea down - at least not at the start - it's the symbol of December - THE 15TH ANNUAL GAMESBIDS OLYMPIC LOGO COMPETITION! Last year's comp didn't result in its demise, quite the opposite with both rounds being won by debutants - so let's hope that showed that the old thing still has some life in it yet. To help give it the best shot, we're sticking to last year's tried and tested, non-batshit mad format - two cities, one summer, one winter, one winner for each and one month (ish) to make them in. You probably want to know where they are, so here you go. They're good ones... SUMMER 2036: ISTANBUL, TURKEY Not Constantinople, and definitely not Byzantium, the city so good they named it three times needs no introduction. But this is one. One of the world's oldest, largest, and greatest cities with thousands of years of history, a symbol of the exotic and exciting (for Western Europe anyway), and a perennial Olympic hopeful, the only surprise is that 14 previous comps have somehow missed it! Let's be honest, even if it's not 2036, the Istanbul Olympics will surely happen eventually, so here's your chance to show how it should look. How will you design the games where Turkish Olympic dreams finally come true? WINTER 2034: GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, GREAT BRITAIN* Possibly even more amazing than 14 years of missing Istanbul is 14 years of completely ignoring the UK*. So on this St Andrew's Day, it's time to rectify that as the Winter comp heads to Scotland, the birthplace of curling. Glasgow, much in the news lately, is Scotland's largest city, even if internationally it's been a bit overshadowed by capital Edinburgh, but there's plenty of inspiration here on the Clyde for you in a city of great design history - even if actually hosting a Winter Olympics here might stretch Agenda 2020, it's still not implausible with some imagination, and that's what it's all about. How will you design the games where curling comes home? *Legal disclaimer - I'm using Scotland, British, Britain, UK etc interchangably based on context simply because that's the situation currently, and as anyone who says they know what'll happen by 2034 is either a) fibbing, or b) Doctor Who, it's easiest. This is not an endorsement of either side on Scottish independence. So there. THE RULES AND THINGS We are, as ever, after logos that encompass the overall feel of the city and local influences that can be tied into a design concept. How can any of these cities articulate graphically what they could bring to future Olympics hosting? What flavour will they bring to the games? Will it inspire the Turks to pull their fingers out and stop Putin's 2036 coronation? (Although Erdogan still...eh). The logos should be presented as full colour designs on white background. If you like, however, they can also be presented in black and white or utilised in forms like street banners, t-shirts, apps, vehicles, pins etc. For voting purposes, the main (colour) logo will be used on the polls, & extra stuff is not obligatory, but any extra material you produce may help you “sell” your design better to the wider GamesBids voting membership.  These logos are for the cities as they HOST the games. So you CAN use the rings, and don't need to include the words “Candidate City, Olympic Games 2036” or whatever the IOC want this week. Please post your preliminary submissions on this thread. If you want to hold anything back to be presented as a “surprise” when voting starts you can contact me or Rols via PM and I'll tell you where you can send the extra material. However, it would be nice to see as many on-thread submissions as possible for people to chew over in-thread, & to try & get the old buzz back. We can hope, right? You can submit logos for either or both cities. However, you cannot enter more than one logo for the same city (see below). So entering one logo for each is fine, but two logos for Glasgow, say, is not fine. You are able, encouraged even, to enter both 'sides' of the comp. Feel free to post as many logo designs as you like, & to ask for feedback from our famously discerning electorate. If you really can't decide between your own designs for a city, feel free to start a poll (or to ask for one to be started). When the time comes for voting, however, you will be asked to settle on a maximum of ONLY ONE official logo per city as your official entry. The format depends on the numbers. Most likely, it will be the traditional exhausting exhaustive ballot preferred by the IOC, but if numbers fit & opinion ok, we may have the World Cup-style tournament system. Whatever happens, the winter & summer 'halves' will be entirely separate, there will be two winners in the Olympic comp tradition. The competition is open to all members of GamesBids, or to any new legitimate members who join before the end of the submission period. I, with consultation, will rule on the legitimacy of new members. As you would expect, I will rule on any disputes - always aiming to be as fair as possible in the process. As always, just remember, this is all meant to be fun. Olympic spirit, remember?. Hopefully this will spark up some action on the board. I'll be dipping in, keeping a close eye on things, but otherwise will try and keep my green yoshi-paws off until the polling stages. The deadline for submissions is 1pm London time (that is, midnight in Sydney, as per tradition) on NEW YEAR'S EVE, 31 DECEMBER 2021. Thus, GB will begin the Olympic year (yup, another one) 2022 with the voting. Just one extra thing, there is something of a tradition of that being extended, but I don't know yet exactly how the numbers will add up - I want to schedule the comp so its last act, a final in the summer comp, if it goes fully through the rounds, would be on February 3, the eve of this year's first human rights-loving sporting spectacles /sarcasm. And this is just to alert @Rob. Rob to the existence of the new comp in the hope that he'll do his traditional bit of putting up links to various free design programs etc for the benefit of those who want to take part but may not have the facility at the moment, and to alert @GBModerator Rob to the fact the comp is back! All that is left to say is thank you Rols once again, and to all participants for having the guts to put your logos up for the annual GamesBids dissection, & may the best logos win - GOOD LUCK!

Q: But is that what the IOC really wants more of? What the IOC WANTS and what it has to choose from is often 2 very different things....

I have been to Almaty- it is a really beautiful city (it was the Soviets 'Eastern' showcase city, Berlin being the 'Western' showcase city). In winter it would be magic.

Almaty is way above the Ukraine- it has hosted major events like World Expo and the Asian Winter Games. It has a GDP per person three times bigger than Ukraine and Ukraine has Russian troops on the border after Russia took a slice of the country! Kazakhstan has endless fossil fuel wealth and a dictator- perfect for the Olympics!

I know I've poked fun at the idea of a double allocation in the past, but I agree this seems like a real possibility. 2030 is Sapporo's if they can get support for it (easier said than done), and then Salt Lake is right behind them for 2034 which the USOPC will likely appreciate even though the SLC folks might not be as happy. And that'll be a huge boon for American TV rights if the first Games of the new contract is on US snow and ice.

Let's not forget, that like Brisbane, SLC has been at this for YEARS now. At least the last five. And three years ago, the USOC officially named SLC (over Denver) as their next candidate for the Winter Olympic Games. And now that everything is done behind-the-scenes, who's to say how much of that list has already been completed. The IOC hasn't remained idle since Tokyo 2020ne. And this is the IOC afterall, & they tweak their own rules as they go along as long as they can see it benefits them in the end in some way. That said, though, if anything, I can at least see the IOC naming SLC as their "preferred candidate" right before Beijing 2022 (like they did with Brisbane, five months before they officially crowned them with 2032 at Tokyo 2020ne). At this point, I'd say it makes more sense to hold off Sapporo, or the likes of Ukraine, 'til at least 2034. Too much uncertainty, especially with Ukraine, to see that all clear up in only 18 months from now. Needless to say, but we've all also have tried to gauge the global map of what other 'dark angel' could mysteriously pop up now that would want to work with the IOC at this point in time. And right now, that map, especially for the winter Games, is looking very bleak.

The other great tradition of comp opening day is the mass @ - here we go: @paul @JDCLauron @Glacib @daveypodmore @Scotguy @Lord David @Rob. @thatsnotmypuppy @mr.bernham @woohooitsme83 @VIK @baron-pierreIV @JMarkSnow2012 @nzl @Utkarsh Verma @Athensfan @Citius Altius Fortius @Olympian1010 @TorchbearerSydney @Sir Rols @AustralianFan @JO2024 @Nacholympic @aismanggo @Anthony @Jon Will Chambers @Victorian @DannyelBrazil @ScoBit @Palette86 @cfm Jeremie @Fiorenzo @pcutone @Olympic Fan Darcy @Athens 2004 forever It's everyone in my previous mass @, plus everyone who posted or voted in last year's comps, even those who voted in August (!). Plus Danny as he expressed interest when he came back after Tokyo

I predict the IOC will announce a WOG TRIPLE awarding soon: 2030 - Salt Lake City 2034 - Salt Lake City 2038 - Salt Lake City!!

Sapporo expected to announce cost cuts to land 2030 Olympics

vegetable can tops

^^ I don't know what evidence you have for that. Birmingham was the British candidate for 1992 and Manchester for 1996 and 2000. Neither city came higher than third. Many of the 128 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who will make the decision, have emphasised that only London would stand a chance in future. As one said when Manchester lost to Sydney: “We will know you’re serious when you come back with London.” I'm not making (or attempting to make) any judgement on Manchester's capability but the IOC repeatedly rejected UK cities that aren't London and bit our hand off as soon as London was offered upsetting repeat bidder and strong favourite Paris. 2020 was not a bid race conducted under the "new norm" rules, so I don't know why you'd think Manchester (in a world where London 2012 didn't happen) would have a chance against Tokyo. Whether a city like Manchester has a chance in future with the new rules is a more interesting question. But to suggest any UK city but London could've won in recent decades is fanciful.

Easy mistake.

Actually, the whole Peng story can develop into something super embarrassing for the (so far silent) IOC. WTA has given some strong statements already and don‘t seem willing to bow to Chinese efforts to keep this under the rug. Of course this will not lead to a „full boycott“, but it adds yet another topic to the list of issues we might get unwanted (by IOC and China) comments/protests by athletes about.

Ballroom Dance. (If ridiculous Paris 2024 can have "Breaking," why can't LA, the entertainment capital of the world, have Ballroom Dance?)

Im hoping to be eternally hopeful on this one because I really want to see it. Brain says no, heart says yes

Lucky you!

That's my thinking, as well. Of course the counter argument can be made, as others have, that the IOC doesn't have to worry about 2034 right now. That they have 3 years to do that. But the flip-side here, is wouldn't it be very comforting to them to have solid, "safe" hosts locked-in now for the next 15 years instead (especially in this current world of uncertainly)? That was the validation to award Brisbane so far in advance. And I also agree, the IOC ain't waiting 'til 2023 to award 2030, either. There's way too much "continuous dialog" going on right now to think it's just only for a "wait-&-see" tactic. Some form of (direct or indirect) decision is coming relatively soon, with either for 2030 alone, or a double with 30/34 in mind.

Well, the problem is that, apart from Sapporo and SLC, there isn't necessarily a good option for 2034 that exists, even in the hypothetical, and while one could emerge within the next few years, the more pressing issue is that while SLC and the USOPC are more than willing to take 2034, unless Sapporo steps up in the next 6 months for 2030, then the IOC is going to have to pull the trigger on SLC for 2030 which leaves them hoping that either Sapporo steps up for 2034 or some other good option for 2034 does emerge. Right now, my guess is that the IOC would happily award a double to Sapporo & SLC if they can get Sapporo on board. If not, then I expect we'll see SLC awarded 2030 next summer. I don't see the IOC holding out until their 2023 session to make the 2030 decision.

Good. I've said for a long time that I'm against an athlete boycott, but I'm all for the IOC being made uncomfortable. They created this mess, so they have to deal with it

I mean, IOC should wait and see how thing develop, because you may end up in a 2024 scenario where if sapporo wants 2030 or none, and slc is very open for 2034, and you select very early on SLC, you'll end up with no bids in 2034. So yeah, SLC may probably just secured its rights to host olympics in a future, but the year is an important question for the survival of the winter olympics.

Actually, from news reports, Beijing officials are pretty pissed-off about it. Saying that by pulling this, Quote “it’s a travesty of the Olympic spirit, it is political provocation, and an ‘offense’ to 1.4 Billion Chinese people. If the U.S. is insistent on going down the ‘wrong path’, China will take necessary and resolute countermeasures”. End quote So in other words, you can expect tit-for-tat at L.A. 2028 (& possibly SLC 2030/34). Which, in the end, results in meaningless diplomatic drama (like it did for Moscow 1980 & L.A. 1984).

There were people (not here, but still vocal on social media) that still thought a week before the opening ceremony in Tokyo that the Olympics wouldn't happen. In the same vein, we can be sure that RWB will be pushing his boycott theories until the last possible minute. But then again, he's a lethal combo of trolling and stupid, so there's that

absolutely agreed, for those reasons, and the bid frankly speaking, was excellent. Nice and compact setup, and it would have given an opportunity to really ramp up some infrastructure projects in Almaty. Better economy, not on Russia's "ish" list, autocratic stability, have hosted events before, didnt lose to China by much (thankful it did though, China's earned this game in spades), wouldn't need a "from scratch" effort that Ukraine would. Its five or six notches above Ukraine. If the likely event Sapporo gets scuttled, which I absolutely do not want to see but understand the reality of the situation, it is a pretty good option in the new reality of the WOGs. Especially if no European nation besides Ukraine is sincerely interested.

What's Borjing? There is zero chance the Olympics are affected. Japan had their Olympics. Because of that, China will refuse to let theirs be affected. Yes, the ISU Worlds could be in danger. Any event with less resources than the Olympics (which is just about everything) might have to re-think things. But it's too early to talk about signs. Omicron has some people freaking out, but as more and more people get vaccinated, I don't think it'll be a major issue after a month or so

France honors Josephine Baker further by making her the first Black Woman "interred" at the Pantheon in Paris. (It is a mere symbolic internment--of a cenotaph--since Baker's remains will stay in Monaco. The smaller coffin carries the soils of Baker's 3 countries - the USA, France and Monaco.) Viva, Mlle. Baker!! They gave her a quasi-military send-off -- another honor which even Edith Piaf was not given.

Exactly. In this day & age, marketing is just everywhere. I think the only people that are complaining the most about the sponsorship are the people over at LA28. Perhaps they are still upset that they didn’t get the 2024 slot instead. Yep. Although, some are still ‘less than convinced’.

Equestrian / BMX events close to Briabane’s centre - Victoria Park It’s incredibly exciting that the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events and BMX freestyle will be veryvclose to Brisbane’s centre (3.4 kms by road). Victoria Park for Cross Country eventing/freestyle BMX and nearby Brisbane Showgrounds for Showjumping/Dressage. At Sydney 2000, while Horsley Park was a nice setting, it was a long way out from the Sydney CBD (58kms) and it was a marathon of trains and then shuttle buses to get out there. With my late mother we picnicked in the largely long grass rural paddocks converted to an eventing course which was the only area that was mowed, understandably. But we had fun, laid a picnic blanket down under a tree in the long grass and watched the horses flash by. But, a long exhausting day and a long journey there and back. However, looking at beautiful Victoria Park in Brisbane as it is now, and as it will be, what a nice place for locals and visitors to watch the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian eventing and freestyle BMX competitions. You could literally conduct an eventing competition right now in Victoria Park. At Games time in 2032, with temporary grandstands, and the other temporary facilities, it will be good to go. The world-wide television coverage of this beautful course and the surrounding gorgeousness and greenery of Brisbane, the city, Brisbane River, mountains, coastline will be priceless.

here is a link to the bill before the house - it's only 40 pages

No shot there's a postponement. Even less of a shot there's a cancellation. I agree that COVID protocols could change and make it tougher for athletes to make it in and out of China, but the fact we're so much further along when it comes to vaccination and detection of the virus since Tokyo helps a lot. We all know that China has tight restrictions when it comes to COVID, but they're going to have to take a long look at how they want that to work once 3,000 athletes and all the volunteers, media, and support staff are in whatever Olympic "bubble" they have set up

Best day of my life was carrying the Olympic torch into Byron Bay (ala my avatar pic)...

8 white elephants

This is the problem with Agenda 2020. If Shanghai jumps in now and does everything right, of course it will tick every box and be technically sound. On what basis can the IOC turn it down? Not every Agenda 2020 'preferred candidate' will be as benevolent as Brisbane. What the rigidness of Agenda 2020 fails to capture is optics and mood - something only an IOC vote with multiple options could hope to mitigate. Case in point is the select of Sydney over Beijing in 1993 with Tiannamen Square so fresh in people's minds.

From what I read, the figure skating schedule is a compromise.. NBC gets about half of the figure skating events in the morning in Beijing so they can be show in primetime in the US. As Karenina noted, most of that is in the 1st week. The majority of the 2nd week of figure skating is at night, which is obviously better for Asian and European audiences. Noteworthy here is that ice dance free dance was moved to the morning of 2/14 in Beijing, which means the last groups will get shown on NBC after the Super Bowl (it's been confirmed that will be NBC's lead-out program from the Super Bowl, they won't have an episode of a series there, first time in 46 years that's happened)

That is probably NOT a wise idea for any O host city now because the winners -- espeiclally Athletics are NOT finalized until 8-9 yers down the road. Remember, the IOC and WADA are still re-awarding many medals from London 2012 to those found doping by the cheating Russians. So, certainly, any smart stadium will NOT be engraving names of Olympic "winners" on their walls so long as those are still in flux and the jury is out.

I do not know the reason why some seats are removed contemporarily. As for the plate of 1964,it is installed permanently where people cannot easily find.

Hindsight is always 20/20, & if the IOC could go back to that vote, they probably would've voted for Munich instead. But talk about maybe "owing" an Olympics to a previous repeat bidder, but 2018 was PC's third, consecutive attempt (losing their previous two bids by such narrow margins), while it was Munich's first. The 2018 PC bid team certainly didn't play the "you owe us" card, but they certainly played the emotional one (not to mention the prospect of opening up more of Asia to winter sports). And at the time, that is what resonated & compelled many of the voters. As a neutral observer, I certainly understood that plea. I've also said before, that I think the IOC's real golden opportunity was electing Salzburg for the 2014 Winter Olympics, instead of the ultimate candidate that won & put the IOC in much of the mess that they find themselves in today. The Austrian's were offering up a low-cost, sustainable Winter Games in one of the Alps most majestic settings. But the IOC was more interested in a sub-tropical outpost that was offering up platinum suitcases instead.

I'm slightly less cynical than you, I do think smaller cities have a chance now, and that they'll be taken seriously rather than dismissed outright. That's partly because the supply/demand equation has shifted, but I would also credit the IOC's rule changes too. Of course, smaller cities still need to hope there's not an Alpha+ city wanting a Games in the same year that they're eyeing up. We're not going to see a situation where the IOC chooses Manchester over New York or Boston over London. And of course the buffer between the old and the new was the IOC ripping up their rules so neither of the megacities on offer lost out (so we have Paris and LA Games). A good decision, but they would never have done the same if Paris and Brisbane were the last two standing. The IOC have given themselves and smaller cities some more flexibility, which I think is a good thing. There are some aspects of the new norm I'm cynical about (transparency being the biggie), but this actually isn't one of them.

TES

My initial thought reading Dan Roan's tweet was this is excellent, but the write-up on the Olympic site is bizarre. I really don't know what to make of it. It certainly hasn't resolved things.

Thanks Sir Rols. We both, my partner and I, have had a scary bad week since testing positive a week ago, but thanks to the daily checkins and care at home by the excellent Royal Melbourne Hospital team, we’ve both turned the corner and enjoying our first full day of feeling normal, wanting to eat and tasting what we eat and drink. But back to the Brisbane 2032 thread, do you know the best way to contact a GB Moderator?

Serena is on the Peng case now. And Nicholas Mahut has directly addressed Bach in a call for action. It’s already blowing up right into the IOC’s faces…

The format for the women's tournament is that the 5 best teams are in Group A and the 5 lesser teams are in group B. Every team from Group A gets a spot in the quarterfinals, joined by the top 3 from Group B. This is all by design. There's no "group of death" scenario here. And the main reason they do it that way is so there will be more games between the top teams, including a guaranteed USA-Canada game. They're not going to add the 11th and 12th best women's hockey teams to the tournament where it's the US and Canada, Finland generally the 3rd best team, and then there's everyone else. It's not like they'd use the men's format of 3 groups of 4 teams because it's even harder to do it in tiers then. 10 teams is where they're likely to stay

Because most of the people the IOC wants to get to watch the Olympics probably have no idea what ballroom dance is

The Zaha Hadid stadium was an ugly expensive monstrosit so I'm glad they went with something more reasonable.

Interesting about that Polish luger… Chinese censoring already warming up too: https://twitter.com/tomaszsajewicz/status/1458003408678363139?s=21

The title of the song of this short video is "ikiru/LIVE" by Miu Sakamoto(daughter of Ryuichi Sakamoto).She actually attended in the PG opening ceremony.

But they’re not negotiating anything are they? The 2026 Commonwealth Games are now only 5 years away. The normal lead-in time from host announcement to Com Games is 7 years. An emergency Host is now needed for 2026. Do you have any recent evidence, examples or announcments by the NSW Government in this regard? Has the NSW Government recently announced that they are actually negotiating or organising an emergency Commonwealth Games in 2026? It would be political death for the NSW State Government if they were to launch into an emergency Commonwealth Games bid right now. They are already being blamed by the elctorate for taking too long to lockdown at the start of this massive outbreak. Perth 2026 As far as Perth’s capability goes, you’re way out of date. Things have come a long way since they hosted the CW Games in 1962. Athletics/Ceremonies - Optus Stadium - 60,000 - has the best and newestbhigh tech stadium in the whole country and last might hosted the AFL Grand Final to a capacity crowd. Design and dimensions enables mode switch to athletics. Aquatics/Swimming/Diving - Perth Superdrome complex - has hosted the FINA World Swimming Championships twice at the Superdrome Aquatic complex facilities in 1991 and 1998. Used 15,000 capacity temporary grandstands as in CWG 2018 Gold Coast Badminton - Perth Badminton Arena Basketball - WA Basketball Centre Beach Volleyball - Scarborough Beach Boxing - Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium Cricket T20 - WACA Cycling Track - SpeedDome velodrome Gymnastics - Perth Arena - 15,500 large hi-tech large CBD arena which hosts NBL Team Perth Wildcats,and Tennis tournaments Hockey - Perth Hockey Stadium Judo - at one of a number of indoor community sports centres ,similar to CWG 2018 Gold Coast Lawn Bowls - North Perth Lawn Bowls Centre Mountain Biking - Kalamunda Mountain Bike Park Netball - State Netball Centre Rugby Sevens - Joondalup Arena Shooting - Whiteman Park Squash - The Squash Factory Table Tennis - at one of a number of indoor community sports centres ,similar to CWG 2018 Gold Coast Triathlon - Swan River, Kings Park Weightlifting - Perth Concert Hall Wrestling - at one of a number of indoor community sports centres ,similar to CWG 2018 Gold Coast

What on God’s earth could make you possibly think that everyone didn’t know the rules in advance ? It was announced to the world 3 years ago. Let me repeat that ……… it was announced to the world 3 years ago. 3 years in advance of the point in time when the Candidature from Brisbane was elevated. I fully agree with you that the system will very likely need tweaking at some point because the changes have been so major.